


a road traveled together

by uchiuchi



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Makoharu Fanfiction Festival, Roadtrip, it's literally all fluff and silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2018-03-09 10:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3246215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uchiuchi/pseuds/uchiuchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before heading off to university in Tokyo, Haru and Makoto decide to embark on a road trip together in order to better understand themselves (A story in which Haru gets competitive, Makoto gets cheesy, and Haru attempts to loosen Makoto up.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	a road traveled together

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt I chose to fill for the festival was "Before heading off to uni in Tokyo, Haru and Makoto decide to embark on a road trip together in order to better understand themselves" because I fell in love with it right when I saw it. I hope I did it some justice.

It had all started five weeks after _“I’m going to a university in Tokyo_ ,” a month after Nationals, and one week after _“I’ve been accepted to Tokyo, too.”_  

Makoto had been flipping through a brochure for the university he was interested in and Haru was sprawled out over his back, arms crossed underneath his head and eyes closed. It had started off as a quiet afternoon on a chilly weekend, the stress of exams pushed for the time being and the pool closed until the weather cleared up.

Haru, with no excuse to soak himself in the tub — _“You just had one in the morning!”_ — tries taking a nap, but his efforts are disturbed when Makoto’s body shifts underneath him.

“Hey, Haru.”

He cracks an eye open. Makoto’s craning his head back and smiles. “What do you think about me getting a license?”

Haru, with a hint of surprise, asks, “To drive?”

“To drive.”

“Why?” Makoto has never brought this up before, not to Haru, not to anyone else. The request seems completely out of the blue.

“Well, my mom suggested it once and I’ve been thinking about it ever since… Don’t you think it would be a good idea? Since we’re going to Tokyo next year?”

Haru ignores the thump against his chest, the quick flutter that stirs his insides, because it was no longer _I_ but _we_ , _we’re going to Tokyo, we’re going next year. Us._

Makoto’s small huff of a laugh breaks Haru out of his thoughts and he scowls when he sees that look, that _completely knowing_ look that sometimes makes Haru curse the fact that he’s such an open book to Makoto. “There’s no point. Trains are everywhere in Tokyo.”

“Ah, you’re right, but…” He hums, searching for the right words and Haru props himself up so he’s straddling Makoto’s back. “I just think it might be a good investment, a good Plan B.”

Haru still doesn’t understand. Sure, Tokyo’s big, so big that they won’t be able to walk together everywhere like here, in Iwatobi. But there’s no place a train can’t take you, and those are the complete opposite of _few and far between._ Still, Makoto seems to have made up his mind, but just wants Haru to give him some form of confirmation.

“Do what you want,” he finally says, falling to his right and bouncing down on the mattress. He tilts his head and looks at Makoto, whose eyes are shining so brightly for something as silly as Haru’s agreement. “But don’t slack off on your studies just so you can learn how to drive.”

“I won’t!” Makoto leans over and places a peck at the corner of Haru’s lips, who is now _sure_ that this level of excitement shouldn’t be here for something as silly as his agreement. He’s never one to turn down Makoto’s kisses, though, and so he fights down the rising blush in his cheeks and presses his face into the bed.

“Maybe you should get one, too.”

“No.” Haru wastes no time shooting that idea down.

Makoto laughs as if completely expecting that answer. “Maybe, once I get the license and a car, I’ll take you somewhere.” And from his tone, Makoto’s also expecting a very curt _No_ from Haru so his mouth drops open in surprise when he instead hears,

“A waterfall.”

“E-Eh?”

“I want to go to a waterfall. A big one,” Haru muffles into the bed. He peeks his eye out to gauge Makoto’s expression, only a slit of blue visible, and it lights up when Makoto nods.

“Waterfall it is.”

 

It’s now the end of March, entrance exams over with, universities picked and ready, classes to begin next week, and Haru’s packing the trunk of a small car with two duffel bags. Behind him, he can hear Makoto on the phone.

“Nagisa, I promise I wasn’t hiding anything from you, I told you last week that— No, I don’t think you’re lying but you just forgot, I think you were too busy eating the new Iwatobi bread to listen and— Nagisa, please don’t cry! I just— Hello? Rei? No, he won’t even let me explain… 

Haru slams the trunk closed and walks over to Makoto, whose face is lined with distress. Haru arches a brow and Makoto starts waving an arm wildly, to which Haru nods. “Put it on speaker.”

 _“_ — _so mean! We only have one week left with them and they’re going on road trip unannounced!”_

 _“Nagisa-kun, I understand you’re upset but please consider that_ —”

_“We don’t have time to consider shit, Rei. Nagisa, we were all there when they told us they were going. Hell, the entire town of Iwatobi was probably there. Literally everyone knows but you.”_

_“Then why don’t I remember!?”_

_“How the hell do I know?!”_

“Nagisa.” Haru holds the phone closer to his mouth and waits until the arguing comes to a stop to continue, but never gets the chance because, after only a second’s silence,

 _“Haru-chan! Don’t go yet! I’m going to take a train right now and_ —”

_“Like hell you are! They’re not dying, they’re going to be back in a few days.”_

_“But I wanted to go!”_

Makoto presses his side to Haru’s and leans towards the phone. “We wish you could all come, but the car isn’t big enough and we didn’t even ask your parents.”

_“Stop bullshitting, Makoto. Just come out and say it: You and Haru want some quality time to yourselves, you guys want to get out there before your Tokyo lives start and find yourselves, yada yada, something to do with nirvana.”_

“You’re not funny, Rin.”

_“I’m hilarious, Haru.”_

_“Aww, well, I understand if you guys want some alone time… Especially now that Mako-chan can impress Haru-chan with his new car~”_

_“It’s hard to impress with a car that small. But hey, I guess that’s good news for Haru because it means Makoto isn’t compensating for anyth_ —”

“R-Rin!” Makoto squeaks, hiding his face in his hands. Haru clears his throat and looks off to the side, feeling his own cheeks begin to burn.

_“Chill, it was a joke. I don’t need you having a heart attack before operating machinery. If you and Haru die, who am I gonna race at the Olympics?”_

Haru rolls his eyes. Makoto laughs weakly. “Well, listen, we really need to get going right now but we’ll call you guys when we get back.”

_“I hope you and Haruka-senpai have a very fulfilling trip.”_

_“Bring me back a souvenir!”_

_“I don’t know if you guys have heard about all that backseat stuff but_ —”

Makoto jams his finger on the ‘end’ button. He slips the phone out of Haru’s hand and into his own pocket and Haru fights down a smirk at how flustered the taller man seems.

“So, uh, should we go?”

Haru nods wordlessly and opens up the passenger door to Makoto’s green car, though since it’s old (a neighbor had offered it to him a few weeks ago), the color’s slightly faded. Still, the insides are as good as new and the air conditioning works, which is all that matters.

Makoto slides into the car through the driver’s side and snaps on his seatbelt. Haru mimics his action and then tilts his head up and against the cushion, eyes slipping closed. He feels warm fingers slip their way between his own.

“This’ll be fun,” Makoto says. “But also good for us. I think we’ll learn a few things along the way.”

“Mm.”

“And,” he begins, voice lifting in happiness, “Everything’s fine when I’m with Haru.”

“Start the car, Makoto.”

“Right, right.”

The vehicle rumbles to life and Haru feels a gentle squeeze on his hand as they pull away from their spot. Haru sighs and opens his eyes back up, looking out the window as their hometown passes around them, and a smile tugs at the edge of his lips.

 

“Everything looks so different already,” Makoto says in wonder. They’re about an hour into their trip, well outside the borders of Iwatobi. The ocean is no longer visible but there are so many trees around them now that it provides a constant shade. Even Haru has his face pressed against the window, eyes wide as greens and browns flash by.

“This stretches on for miles," Haru says as he looks down at the map in his hands. He’d designated himself the navigator because _no way_ was he going to have Makoto, getting-lost-extraordinaire, do it.

“Aaah, it’s so beautiful…” He turns to Haru, his expression the exact copy of an excited puppy. “Let’s get out and walk around.”

Haru blinks. “Already?”

“Why not? It’d be a shame not to.”

Haru has no reason to shoot down Makoto’s suggestion and it’s not that he _wants_ to do that, but right now, he just doesn’t feel like getting out of the car. “We’ll do it when we reach the end.”

“Mm, okay then.”

They drive in silence for the next few minutes. Haru turns his attention back to the window, paying attention to the passing scenery alone, until Makoto clears his throat.

“I spy something green.”

Haru turns to the brunet in shock. “What?”

“Ran and Ren play it wherever we go. It helps pass the time,” he explains, then looks at Haru expectantly. Haru’s still trying to gauge whether Makoto’s joking or not — which he isn’t, he soon realizes — and then sighs and decides to humor him.

“The leaves?”

“Nope.”

 _What else is green around here?_ Haru thinks, sitting up so he can look around him. “The grass?”

“Nope.”

Haru huffs, the competitive side of him appearing. “There’s nothing else.”

“The hood of the car,” Makoto announces. Haru’s eyes twitches and Makoto’s grin is so bright that it rivals the sun. “Your turn.”

“I spy something white.”

“The clouds.”

Haru turns his head so fast it’s a wonder his neck isn’t cracked. “How did you—?”

Makoto says nothing, eyes sparkling in amusement.

_Alright then._

“Go again.”

“Hmm… I spot something blue.”

“The sky.”

“Nope.”

“The car behind us.”

“Nope.”

“The bird.”

“Nope.”

“Makoto.” Haru’s getting frustrated. “Is it something you can see right now?”

“I can.”

Haru follows Makoto’s line of sight, bottom lip jutting out. “But you’re just looking at me.”

Makoto’s smile widens.

“I don’t—” Haru stops and frowns, a puzzle piece clicking into place. “My eyes?”

“You’re good at this, Haru-chan.”

Makoto’s met with a less-than-amused expression.

“Again.”

“Eh? Okay then, um, I spy something beautiful.”

“It has to be a color.”

“There are only so many colors around here.”

“Fine. Are you looking at it right now?”

“I am.”

“You’re looking at me, Makoto.”

“It appears so.”

Haru crosses his arms like a child and looks out the window, hiding his flushed cheeks from Makoto. “Embarassing.”

Makoto laughs.

 

“I feel like we’re back in middle school."

“Middle schoolers can’t drive.”

“Haru, you know what I mean…!”

They walk through the nature together, Makoto stopping every once in a while to point out a cool rock he’s found — _“It’s green and blue!”_ — a beautiful bird he sees — _“It’s staring right at us!”_ and so on. In general, he’s acting like an excited toddler who finds _everything_ around them amazing, and Haru can’t help but find it endearing.

"It's weird. Even though we're in a completely different place, it feels exactly the same, walking next to you." 

Haru's breath hitches and he briefly wonders if Makoto can actually read minds because he'd just been thinking the same thing, had just been relishing in how completely  _relaxed_ he is right now, regardless of all this being new territory. He's so caught up in his thoughts that he stops paying attention to where he's going.

“Ah, Haru, don’t step there!”

Haru stops with his foot mid-air and raises a brow.

Makoto gets to his knees and looks down. “There's a fish pond.”

_Oh._

Now he’s interested.

Haru crouches down and stares at the pond with wide, curious eyes. He dips his fingers into it and watches as the fish start circling his hand, some brushing against him as they swim. He sits motionless for minutes, the only movement coming from him being the small wave of his fingers.

Then he feels eyes on him and looks up. Makoto’s staring at him with a gentle smile and Haru realizes he’s probably been doing it for quite some time now, so he clears his throat and turns his head as a heat rises to his cheeks.

“There’s no point in you going on this roadtrip if you’re just going to look at me all the time.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Air puffs out of Haru as he gets to his feet and when Makoto tilts his head in confusion, he holds out his hand. “Let’s go back.”

Makoto’s eyes light up. “Okay, Haru-chan.”

“I told you…” But he trails off when Makoto’s hand slips into his own because, with Tokyo coming up, familiarity is all he wants right now.

He’ll let it slide just this once.

 

“Haru, what about this one?" Makoto holds up a small penguin charm. “Do you think he’d like this?”

Haru takes the item from Makoto and turns it around in his hands. “He’ll like anything we get him. But this is perfect.”

“Thought so,” Makoto laughs. He then uncurls his other hand and shows another charm, a silly one with sea animals crammed into a car. “And this one’s for you.”

Haru looks at the charm, then at Makoto. “For me?”

“It’s a memento. So you can always remember this trip.” Makoto smiles when Haru’s eyes widen, fascinated by the design of the chain, and he takes Haru’s momentary distraction as an opportunity to swoop forward and place a kiss on his cheek.

Haru opens his mouth to protest the kiss but just ends up pressing his face into Makoto’s chest in embarrassment, and things seem to be going fine until... 

“I can’t believe this happened!”

That seems to be the only sentence Makoto’s capable of saying now because Haru’s heard it thirteen times so far. Even as he’s digging through the trunk of the car, trying to find a _Kind of long piece with a circle on top? Or is it a square piece_ that Makoto’s described, he can hear his voice carry from the front.

“It probably just needs a break since it’s so old,” Haru says, taking out a tool that somewhat matches what he thinks he’s looking for.

“I hope so because I don’t understand anything about this…”

Haru closes the trunk of the car and walks to the front, then tenses, and he swears his mouth runs dry.

“Haru, do you know how this works?” Makoto asks desperately, shirt off and over his shoulder, grease on his hands, sweat dripping off his forehead as he leans over the engine and tries to make sense of it.

“Uh.” Haru licks his lips. “I don’t.”

“I think this part here is disconnected because it’s not going all the way around. Do you see what I mean?”

“Yeah.”

Makoto looks up from the engine and frowns. “You can’t see it from there. You have to come closer.”

Haru nods, a little too stiffly but he doesn’t think Makoto notices, and makes his way over. The taller man grabs his hand when he does and places it on a black cord. “This one right here. It’s supposed to wrap around, right?”

“Maybe.”

“Then do you think I should try and put it back?”

“Sure.”

“Then, I’ll try!”

“Okay.”

“Haru, are you okay?”

“Fine.”

“But you’re being, uh, unusually… quiet?”

Haru turns his head just slightly and finds Makoto  _right there_ , staring at him, and he leans forward to get a closer look at Haru’s face. Haru has no way to get out, and Makoto’s still holding onto his hand, so the movement causes it to make contact with Makoto’s chest.

_Have Makoto’s muscles always been that big?_

Haru wants to die.

“Haru?”

Haru clears his throat. “Why aren’t you wearing your shirt?”

Makoto blinks. “I don’t want it to get dirty. And I’m worried the button will pop or something if I keep leaning over.”

Makoto wants to kill him.

Haru nods. “Right. Of course.”

“Is that… a problem?”

“Hurry up and fix the car,” is Haru’s answer. Makoto frowns and cards his free hand through his hair, something he’s always done when deep in thought, and Haru almost chokes as he watches it being pushed back. “Right now, Makoto.”

 

It had taken another hour, but the car was up and running again 

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that, ever since, Makoto’s been on edge, worried that it’ll stop in the middle of the road. It’s crafting an atmosphere that Haru doesn’t like being in, especially not after the joyous and carefree attitude Makoto had been drowning him in when they’d first started.

“Do you want to play a car game?”

“Ah, no, I’m trying to focus on the road right now. But thank you, Haru.”

“Mm.”

Another few minutes, and then,

“Should we stop and eat?”

“I’m afraid the car won’t turn back on if we do…”

“Alright.”

Another few minutes, and then Haru decides to turn things up a notch.

He reaches his arm across the seat and palms the front of Makoto’s pants, which causes him to jerk his knee upwards and hit the wheel. The car horn blares.

“Sorry!” Makoto calls out to a passing car, and the driver waves their hand in reassurance. Makoto gives them a smile then turns to Haru, eyes wide. “H-Haru!?”

Haru shrugs, then presses the palm of his hand into Makoto’s crotch.

“What are you doing!?” he squeaks.

“You seem tense.”

“And this is making me _less_ tense?”

“It works when you’re studying,” Haru shrugs. He thinks his logic is pretty sound.

“I’m _driving,_ Haru, you can’t just— HARU!” Makoto crosses his legs as Haru shifts in his seat and lowers his head, denying him access to his zipper. “You can’t do that here!”

Haru tries to pry Makoto’s legs apart. “It’ll be fine.”

“No, it won’t!” he panics. “And okay, I get it, I’ll stop worrying so much. You’ve made your point, so you can stop now.”

Haru thinks about this for a moment, then hums in satisfaction and sits up.

“I still want to suck your—”

“HARU!”

 

It’s night, and Haru’s convinced Makoto to park the car atop a small hill while they rest. They get out of the vehicle and grab covers from the back then lay them down over the hood of the car. It doesn’t seem comfortable, a thin fabric separating them from metal, but as Haru climbs onto it it’s not _too_ bad. A little sturdy, but he’s not going to get hurt from it 

He lays down on his back and Makoto joins him. For a while, they’re surrounded only by the sound of wind and crickets. Makoto’s rubbing circles into the palm of Haru’s hand and Haru has his eyes on the stars above him, counting each one that he sees. When he gets to two hundred, Makoto speaks.

“Just think… Next week, we’ll be in Tokyo.”

Haru takes his eyes off the sky and turns to watch Makoto carefully. His expression is thoughtful, his eyes are glimmering, his lips are curved into a small smile. But there’s some hesitation wavering in his tone.

“Are you scared?”

“Eh? Scared?” Makoto considers this for a moment then says confidently, “No, I’m not scared. Just nervous. But, _really_ nervous.”

“Are you… regretting anything?” Haru asks quietly, directing his attention to the stars again. He can feel Makoto shifting beside him.

“Like what?”

Haru shrugs. He doesn’t even know why he asked that, it had just come out.

Makoto exhales. “I don’t regret anything, no. I’m going to Tokyo to live my dream. It’s going to be hard work, but it’ll all be worth it in the end, won’t it?”

Haru nods wordlessly.

“But some things are going to change, and I’m not sure what they are, or if I’ll be ready for them.”

This takes Haru by surprise, who grabs at the fabric of his pants just so he can have something to hold on to. Makoto’s always going on about the wonders of a new city, the changes to come, and never once has he seemed nervous about it. “Whatever changes will change for the good.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“Mm.” Makoto hoists himself up on his elbows. “And what about you?”

Haru chances a glance at Makoto.

“Do you regret anything?”

“Of course not.” The words come out so fast that he’s not sure if Makoto even picked up on them. “I get to swim for the rest of my life.”

Makoto laughs. “Well that’s—”

“And…” Haru continues, pausing for a second to wet his lips. “I get to be with Makoto.”

A breath hitches.

He keeps going, keeps talking, because now’s probably the only time he’ll feel brave enough — _crazy_ enough — to let all this out. “I didn’t tell you this, but when I was in Australia with Rin, he guessed you and I had fought.” Makoto tilts his head in confusion. “I wouldn’t go into the ocean because I was too worried that when I got back to Iwatobi, things would be different.”

Makoto says nothing.

“And then he told me that when he was in Australia, he would look out at the ocean and feel driven because Sousuke and I were at the other side. And I thought, even if we do go different ways, I could do the same. I could look at a pool, any pool, during practice or at a tournament and think that you were still there, pushing me forward.”

“Haru…”

“But I don’t want you to push me forward. I want you to pull me. Gently, like always, since we were little, and when I saw you at the airport I knew things would be fine, that we _could_ still be close even if we were in different parts of the world but I also realized that I would rather be next to you and grow with you and…” He feels his throat constrict. “And if _something_ was going to change I’d want Makoto by my side, it’s… I…”

He trails off, but it’s not like he can say anything else anyway because Makoto’s rolling over him, their chests pressing together as he takes Haru’s face between his hands. “Sometimes you’re so perfect that I can’t even breathe, Haru.”

Haru splutters. “I am not perfect.”

“But you’re right. How can I be nervous when you’re going to be with me? I should be excited to get to experience all these new things with you.” Haru’s eyes grow big and Makoto lowers his head until their noses are brushing. “Because everything’s fine when I’m with Haru, isn’t it?”

“ _Embarrassing_ ,” Haru breathes.

And then Makoto’s pressing their mouths together and Haru can feel him smile against his lips. He wraps his arms around Makoto’s neck just as the other puts his hands on his waist and tries impossibly to pull him closer, to feel and breathe every bit of Makoto that he can. His lips part as Makoto’s tongue swipes across them.

“I’m so happy you’re coming with me, Haru.”

“Ma- _ah_ -koto…”

His fingers dig into Makoto’s shoulders as he attempts to push his hips upwards, but then Makoto’s pulling off of him. Haru blinks.

“Are we not…?”

“Not what?” Makoto asks. Then he notices Haru’s blown pupils and fumbles. “Haru, we can’t do it here!”

“Backseat?”

“Haru!”

“No one will see us,” Haru mutters, shifting in his spot.

“Now _you’re_ being embarrassing,” Makoto groans, pressing his face into Haru’s chest. Haru hums in delight, pushes Makoto off of him, then curls himself up in his arms. The cool night air blows around them and they fall asleep under the stars.

 

It’s morning again, and after another two hours of driving, Haru jolts in his seat in realization. “Where are we going?”

“Hm?”

“When are we stopping and turning back?”

“Oh. There’s one more place I want to go to,” Makoto says, and his smile grows so wide that Haru’s sure his cheeks must hurt.

“Where?”

“Surprise.”

“Where?” Haru repeats. As much as he trusts Makoto, he doesn’t like surprises.

Makoto shakes his head. “That’s not going to work on me this time.”

Haru narrows his eyes, then palms the front of Makoto’s pants again.

The car horn blares.

 

“ _Honestly,_ Haru, you have to stop doing that.”

“You seem to enjoy it.”

“I do not! Or, well, at least not when I’m driving…”

Makoto’s hand is clasped around Haru's as he leads him through a bundle of trees up a small hill. There’s a small, secret map in his hands that he refuses to show Haru — _“Because it’ll ruin the surprise!” —_ and the goofiest smile is on his face. Haru finds that the walking through branches would be more enjoyable if they’d brought hiking gear along with them, but he understands why Makoto didn’t tell him to.

“How much longer?”

“It’s right around here,” Makoto says, then comes to a stop. “Do you trust me, Haru?”

Haru frowns, cautious. “Of course I trust you.”

With that answer, Makoto walks behind Haru and cups his eyes with his hands. “I’m going to lead you now.” When Haru starts to protest that Makoto’s clumsy _enough_ when he doesn’t have someone else to be responsible for, Makoto follows up with, “I promise I won’t send us tumbling.”

Haru considers this for a second. “Fine.”

Then he feels himself being slowly guided forwards. He raises a leg to step over a log when Makoto tells him to, changes direction when Makoto tells him to, and grabs onto his arm when Makoto tells him to.

Then he hears water and the sound gets louder the longer they walk.

They come to a stop.

“Makoto, what’s—”

“Open your eyes, Haru.”

Makoto removes his hands and Haru slowly blinks them open, and he swears his breathing stops when he sees it, a massive waterfall crashing into the rocks below it. The smell of it is strong, the sound is blocking out all others, and it’s glistening and _beautiful_ and he’s so utterly mesmerized by it that he finds he can’t move.

“I promised you I’d bring you to a waterfall once I got a car,” Makoto says, and Haru blinks out of his trance because he’d completely forgotten about that, and his chest tightens at the realization that Makoto had probably planned out this whole trip just for a silly wish he’d made. “I wanted to take you to one before we went to Tokyo, before we got busy, because you won’t find these in a big city.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Makoto breathes. “I spent hours searching for the perfect one.”

“Mmhm.”

“And I just knew this was the one when I saw it. Silly, right?”

“Yeah.”

Makoto then looks at Haru, not sure how he should interpret his one-word answers, and Haru looks away before Makoto can see his face.

“Haru?”

“I love it."

His voice cracks.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Thank you, Makoto.”

“You’re welcome, Haru, but—”

Makoto doesn’t have time to finish because Haru’s turning around and he briefly sees his eyes, wide and brimming with tears, before his head is pulled down and lips are moving against his own.

A shuddering breath fans out over Makoto’s mouth as they kiss. They pull back and Makoto wipes away Haru’s tears with his thumb, his own eyes beginning to water. “Worth it?”

“Idiot,” Haru sniffs, then presses his face into Makoto’s chest and stays there. Makoto doesn’t mind. He just stands and holds him for the next few minutes, hand slowly combing through his hair. Haru clenches Makoto’s shirt in his hands and closes his eyes, unbelieving of the fact that Makoto had done all this for him, but also not surprised, because it’s _Makoto._

The most selfless, gentle, kind person on this planet.

And he was Haru’s.

“Do you want to swim now?”

Haru looks up at Makoto’s smiling face and nods.

“Go ahead, then.”

Haru strips out of his clothing in an instant and makes to run, but then turns and holds out his hand. “You, too. Come with me.”

“Of course. Let me just— Haru!”

Haru doesn’t listen, pulling Makoto right to the waterfall and jumping in, the other falling in behind him. He opens his eyes when he’s underneath and turns to Makoto, whose cheeks are puffy with breath, eyes comically wide, and little bubbles start to escape Haru’s mouth as he laughs.

That seems to take the breath out of Makoto who immediately swims upwards to get more oxygen. Haru follows him and they pop out right under the waterfall.

“My clothes are all wet now, Haru,” Makoto whines.

Haru hums, then wraps his arms around Makoto’s neck. “I’m ready for Tokyo.”

Makoto looks surprised for a brief moment, and then brushes his hair away from his face. “Are you?”

“I am. A new life with Makoto.”

Makoto laughs, pressing their foreheads together. “Then, I'm glad," he says, and then, "You know what I’ve always wanted to do?”

“Hm?” Haru asks, though he feels he already knows the answer.

“I’ve always wanted to kiss under a waterfall.”

The cheeky grin that spreads across Makoto’s face makes Haru rolls his eyes, but he leans forward anyway and connects their lips once more.

 

**Author's Note:**

> These two have ruined my life.


End file.
